THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. and
OXFORD, England, Oct. 18, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Amgen
(NASDAQ:AMGN) and Oxford Nanopore Technologies Ltd. today announced
Amgen's equity investment of £50 million ($66 million) in Oxford Nanopore, a
privately-owned, UK-based company advancing a new generation of
portable, real-time genetic sequencing technology.
Oxford Nanopore has developed and brought to market a
proprietary sequencing technology that uses many nanopores
(nano-scale holes made by proteins contained within a synthetic
membrane) in combination with electronics to perform direct,
real-time sequencing of DNA and RNA. The technology ranges in scale
from pocket-sized to very high throughput benchtop devices and can
sequence very long fragments of DNA or RNA, which has a number of
benefits in genomic analysis.
The investment in Oxford Nanopore aligns with Amgen's strategic
focus on using human genetics to deliver new medicines to patients.
Amgen subsidiary deCODE Genetics, a world leader in human genetics,
uses Oxford Nanopore's sequencing technologies to conduct genome
research, including the identification and validation of new
targets.
"The study of human genetics continues to uncover insights into
the diseases we face as a society," said Kári Stefánsson, founder
of deCODE Genetics. "Oxford Nanopore's long-read sequencing
capability creates a window into parts of the genome that have been
out of reach, as well as giving us a much better handle on
structural variants that confer risk of a wide variety of diseases.
We have used Oxford Nanopore technology to sequence several hundred
human genomes and continue to see the promise of this emerging
technology."
"As a biotechnology pioneer, Amgen has demonstrated what can be
achieved for society through innovation and a deep understanding of
genetics," said Gordon Sanghera,
chief executive officer of Oxford Nanopore. "We are delighted to
welcome them as a shareholder."
Nanopore technology is uniquely scalable. MinIONTM,
the only pocket-sized sequencer, can be used to sequence in any
location. In addition, Oxford Nanopore has developed benchtop,
on-demand, high-throughput devices such as PromethIONTM
designed for very large projects or large numbers of samples.
This investment will be effected through the purchase of £50
million ($66 million) of ordinary
shares in Oxford Nanopore based on the same price per share as the
primary fundraising announced in March
2018.
About Amgen
Amgen is committed to unlocking the
potential of biology for patients suffering from serious illnesses
by discovering, developing, manufacturing and delivering innovative
human therapeutics. This approach begins by using tools like
advanced human genetics to unravel the complexities of disease and
understand the fundamentals of human biology.
Amgen focuses on areas of high unmet medical need and leverages
its expertise to strive for solutions that improve health outcomes
and dramatically improve people's lives. A biotechnology pioneer
since 1980, Amgen has grown to be one of the world's leading
independent biotechnology companies, has reached millions of
patients around the world and is developing a pipeline of medicines
with breakaway potential.
For more information, visit www.amgen.com and follow us on
www.twitter.com/amgen.
About deCODE Genetics
Based in Reykjavik, Iceland, deCODE is a global leader
in analyzing and understanding the human genome. Using its unique
expertise and population resources, deCODE has discovered genetic
risk factors for dozens of common diseases. The purpose of
understanding the genetics of disease is to use that information to
create new means of diagnosing, treating and preventing disease.
deCODE is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Amgen.
About Oxford Nanopore
Oxford Nanopore Technologies
aims to disrupt the paradigm of biological analysis by making high
performance, novel DNA/RNA sequencing technology that is accessible
and easy to use. Our goal is to enable the genetic analysis of any
living thing, by any person, in any environment.
Our novel, electronics-based DNA/RNA sequencing technology is
being used in more than 80 countries, for a range of biological
research applications. These include large-scale human genomics,
cancer research, microbiology, plant science and environmental
research.
Nanopore sequencing is also being explored beyond research,
where it has the potential to provide rapid, meaningful information
in the fields of healthcare, agriculture, food and water
surveillance and education.
Follow Oxford Nanopore on Twitter at
www.twitter.com/nanopore.
Amgen Forward-Looking Statements
This news release
contains forward-looking statements that are based on the current
expectations and beliefs of Amgen. All statements, other than
statements of historical fact, are statements that could be deemed
forward-looking statements, including estimates of revenues,
operating margins, capital expenditures, cash, other financial
metrics, expected legal, arbitration, political, regulatory or
clinical results or practices, customer and prescriber patterns or
practices, reimbursement activities and outcomes and other such
estimates and results. Forward-looking statements involve
significant risks and uncertainties, including those discussed
below and more fully described in the Securities and Exchange
Commission reports filed by Amgen, including its most recent annual
report on Form 10-K and any subsequent periodic reports on Form
10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K. Unless otherwise noted, Amgen
is providing this information as of the date of this news release
and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking
statements contained in this document as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.
No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual
results may differ materially from those Amgen project. Amgen's
results may be affected by its ability to successfully market both
new and existing products domestically and internationally,
clinical and regulatory developments involving current and future
products, sales growth of recently launched products, competition
from other products including biosimilars, difficulties or delays
in manufacturing its products and global economic conditions. In
addition, sales of Amgen's products are affected by pricing
pressure, political and public scrutiny and reimbursement policies
imposed by third-party payers, including governments, private
insurance plans and managed care providers and may be affected by
regulatory, clinical and guideline developments and domestic and
international trends toward managed care and healthcare cost
containment. Furthermore, Amgen's research, testing, pricing,
marketing and other operations are subject to extensive regulation
by domestic and foreign government regulatory authorities. Amgen or
others could identify safety, side effects or manufacturing
problems with its products, including its devices, after they are
on the market. Amgen's business may be impacted by government
investigations, litigation and product liability claims. In
addition, Amgen's business may be impacted by the adoption of new
tax legislation or exposure to additional tax liabilities. While
Amgen routinely obtains patents for its products and technology,
the protection offered by its patents and patent applications may
be challenged, invalidated or circumvented by its competitors, or
Amgen may fail to prevail in present and future intellectual
property litigation. Amgen performs a substantial amount of its
commercial manufacturing activities at a few key facilities,
including in Puerto Rico, and also
depends on third parties for a portion of its manufacturing
activities, and limits on supply may constrain sales of certain of
its current products and product candidate development. In
addition, Amgen competes with other companies with respect to many
of its marketed products as well as for the discovery and
development of new products. Discovery or identification of new
product candidates or development of new indications for existing
products cannot be guaranteed and movement from concept to product
is uncertain; consequently, there can be no guarantee that any
particular product candidate or development of a new indication for
an existing product will be successful and become a commercial
product. Further, some raw materials, medical devices and component
parts for Amgen's products are supplied by sole third-party
suppliers. Certain of Amgen's distributors, customers and payers
have substantial purchasing leverage in their dealings with Amgen.
The discovery of significant problems with a product similar to one
of Amgen's products that implicate an entire class of products
could have a material adverse effect on sales of the affected
products and on its business and results of operations. Amgen's
efforts to acquire other companies or products and to integrate the
operations of companies Amgen has acquired may not be successful. A
breakdown, cyberattack or information security breach could
compromise the confidentiality, integrity and availability of
Amgen's systems and Amgen's data. Amgen's stock price may be
volatile and may be affected by a number of events. Amgen's
business performance could affect or limit the ability of the Amgen
Board of Directors to declare a dividend or its ability to pay a
dividend or repurchase its common stock. Amgen may not be able to
access the capital and credit markets on terms that are favorable
to it, or at all.
CONTACT: Amgen, Thousand
Oaks
Kristen Davis, 805-447-3008
(media)
Trish Hawkins, 805-447-5631
(media)
Arvind Sood, 805-447-1060
(investors)
CONTACT: Oxford Nanopore Technologies
Zoe McDougall,
media@nanoporetech.com
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SOURCE Amgen